Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Boortz was carried for a while -- before Rush went wide -- by a clear-channel Atlanta station, giving him regional reach, or by a satellite superstation that "got him out" beyond Atlanta and Georgia. But I'm trying to recall things half-remembered here.
Regardless, Rush didn’t ‘walk through’ a door Boortz opened; he did it on his own.
I meant in the sense that Boortz proved that political talk radio can build and hold an audience and a market. You'll recall that other early talkers like Laura Schlessinger may have been culturally conservative, but their shows were either lifestyle, or entertainment chat, or sports chat -- Boortz was doing the news-politics talk format that made Rush, 15 years before Rush did it. Boortz didn't give Rush a specific opportunity or introduction to someone; rather, he proved the concept.
Me too. You're depending on an old fart's memory with me. I listened to him for years and I just never got the impression he ever was as wide-spread as Rush - ever.
Boortz left WGST sometime in 1991 and then came on with WSB (a real "clear-channel" vs. the corporate Clear Channel) in 1992 - 4 years after Rush went nationwide.
In fact, my overall impression is that while he gave the one-up to people like Hannity, it was Hannity who helped propel Boortz into the limelite by appearances, talk-up, introductions, etc.